Saturday morning scriptures and stuff.... "Burdens"

Yes, yes, I know....I'm late again.  So it's a special "evening" edition of Saturday Morning Scriptures and Stuff.... it's been an extra hectic week for me.  Lots of good things happening, and some not-so-good things too.  :-(   I was thinking today about how it seems almost uncanny how when I have one burden lifted, a different one is right there ready to take it's place.  I'm always waiting for the day when I find myself with no burdens, but I think I may be waiting for something that's just not meant to be.   And maybe that's a good thing. I think there are a few good reasons to have burdens. 


Let's face it.  Most of the time when we turn to God, it's because we have a burden and we want God to do something about it.  We ask Him to take the burden from us.  We ask Him for a sign to know what to do about it.  We ask Him to intervene and handle this problem for us.... What if we didn't have any burdens?   Would we start feeling a little too confident that we didn't need God?   Would we lose our desire to turn to Him for guidance?  "Hey Lord... guess what?  I don't have any burdens right now, so I'm good!  Catch up with you later!"  As much as I hate to admit this, I'm afraid some of my prayers may be along those lines if I didn't have burdens to share with Him. 

Another thing about burdens.... it bonds us to other human beings.  When I see a friend carrying a burden, I want to try and help them with it.  Whether it's something that I can physically do to help relieve them, or maybe it's just to lend an ear to let them talk, it brings us closer.  We share that experience and we bond.   Don't get me wrong, I'd much rather bond over a good football game, a concert, or a funny movie with a friend, rather than a painful problem that needs to be addressed, but sometimes it's someone's burden, either theirs or mine that makes us stop what we are doing for a minute and focus on each other.

The last thing I'll say about burdens is that they give God an open platform to show us what He can do when we turn things over to Him. 

"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee..."  Psalm 55:22

Isn't it COOL when we DO "Cast our burdens" to God and He comes through to lift that burden in a mighty way?!!?  I've seen Him come into many situations that seemed hopeless through my human eyes, but then God swoops in and WOW.  God is cool like that.   He has ways to take care of problems that only He can come up with!  I just love it when I get to watch in amazement while He comes to my rescue time and time again.


So... yeah,  it might seem weird to say this, but tonight, I'm thankful for burdens.  I'm thankful for my friends who help me through my burdens.  And I'm thankful to God for His promises to always be by my side while I deal with whatever problem I'm struggling with that day.  God doesn't promise life will be easy, but He does promise that He will be right beside us all along the way and that gives me hope.  And what would life be without hope???  :-)

"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."
I Thessalonians 5:18